United States

Wall Street staged a solid rebound, with the S&P 500 climbing 0.8% to more than recover the previous day’s losses. The Dow added 0.3% while the Nasdaq rose 1.3%, powered by a rally in chipmakers that saw the Philadelphia semiconductor gauge climb more than 3%. Micron Technology led the charge after unveiling plans to invest more than US$250 billion in the US through 2035 to meet surging demand for memory chips, dragging Applied Materials and Sandisk higher with it.

The AI theme dominated corporate news elsewhere. SK Hynix priced its US listing of American depositary receipts at US$149 apiece, a deal that would raise around US$26.5 billion and rank as the largest ever first-time US share sale by a foreign company, topping Alibaba’s 2014 debut. Meta shares recovered from early weakness after reports the company plans to begin manufacturing its own AI chip in September, while S&P Global Ratings cut Oracle to the lowest investment-grade rating amid ballooning AI spending.

On the policy front, New York Fed president John Williams flagged AI-driven demand as the inflation risk he is watching most closely, warning that a sustained demand impulse could force the central bank to lift rates. Elsewhere, an auction of 30-year Treasuries drew a yield of 5.058%, the highest in nearly two decades, underscoring how swelling bond supply is pushing investors to demand bigger returns on government debt. Weekly jobless claims fell 2,000 to 215,000, a touch below expectations, and the US 10-year yield finished at 4.53%.

Europe

European shares rebounded from Wednesday’s losses despite the ongoing Middle East tension, with the Stoxx 600 gaining 0.8% as mining and technology stocks, among the hardest hit earlier in the week, led the recovery. Basic resources jumped 3.3% as copper rallied alongside broader industrial metals, while the tech sector added 2.8%, helped by strong gains in Nokia and Ericsson.

Healthcare was the notable laggard. AstraZeneca crashed 6.2% in its worst session in years after a trial of its gene silencer drug Wainua failed to help prevent heart problems in patients with a rare cardiac disease. Defence stocks also struggled, with a Goldman Sachs basket of the sector closing down 3.4% after this week’s NATO summit delivered fewer spending commitments than investors had hoped, and Hensoldt, Renk and Rheinmetall all copping downgrades. Among the bright spots, molecular testing firm Qiagen rallied 11% on reports of early takeover interest from firms including EQT and Advent. London’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.2%.

*Note: These prices are based on futures and/or CFD pricing and may therefore differ slightly from spot pricing.

Commodities and Currencies

Oil gave back much of its recent gains as traders priced in a contained US-Iran conflict, with Brent settling 2.6% lower at US$76.02 a barrel and WTI sinking 2% to finish near US$72. Gold snapped a three-day losing streak, rebounding 1.1% to US$4,123.64 an ounce as the softer US dollar and easing yields lent support, though the metal remains down more than a fifth since the Iran conflict began in late February. Iron ore eased 0.3% to US$98.70 a tonne, while copper rallied as risk appetite returned.

The Australian dollar was steady at US69.41¢, while the kiwi surged 1% after strong economic data fuelled rate hike bets across the Tasman. Bitcoin gained 2.2% to US$63,304. The Australian 10-year yield sits at 4.87%.

Economic Calendar

No Major Economic Announcements